


Knight Moves

by rikmhm



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 18:57:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4490958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rikmhm/pseuds/rikmhm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt:  AU, Both Regina and Emma are knights and end up finding one another<br/>Written for Sighanne<br/>Evil Regals Christmas in July fic exchange</p><p>I obviously don't own these characters and I don't own their classic SQ lines, like the few that I quoted in this work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Tavern

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sighanne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sighanne/gifts).



Emma’s horse stopped instinctively outside the local tavern. She spent a lot of time there, mostly because the owner always had news of the best contracts. In periods of peace, knights had to compete with each other for private contracts if they wanted to eat dinner every evening. Emma was one of the best around, but she had to be crafty to beat out the other top knights in the area.

“Got anything for me?” Emma picked her leg up and slid onto the bar stool. A gray haired woman walked over and leaned on the other side of the bar.

“Don’t I always?” The woman winked at Emma before leaning in a little closer. Her small glasses slid to the end of her nose. “I’ve heard of a royal benefactor who is offering a generous prize to any knight who can slay the dragon that has been terrorizing the citizens two towns over.”

“Granny, that’s wonderful! Well, not for the citizens, but for me. A dragon always fetches a high price and this one is particularly hated. I’ve heard that it’s killed two of the citizens so far.” The woman wasn’t Emma’s grandmother, but was affectionately referred to as Granny by all of the locals. “How do I contact this benefactor?”

“Well, you’re in luck. He’s sitting at that table right over there. How do you think I heard about the offer? I must admit, though….he was interviewing another knight. I guess the news has traveled faster than usual.” Granny gestured toward the table by the window, where a gentleman sat. He does look like someone who would frequent the castle, Emma thought.

“I guess I should go see if there’s any chance for me. Can’t hurt to ask!” Emma, ever the optimist, jumped up from her stool and made her way to the table. She didn’t bother being subtle. “I’m Emma Swan and I’ve heard that you’re looking for someone to slay a dragon.”


	2. The Bookstore

As Emma set out on her horse, she made a list of stops she’d have to make. Pick up the armor that had been made available to her, purchase rations, and research this dragon she’d be tracking. She decided to do the easiest tasks first. With her armor hanging from her saddle and her rations in her pack, she rode over to the book shop. The proprietor, Belle French, often let Emma use the books for free for business or pleasure. The shop even had a wide variety of reference materials in the back that were available for use within the shop, but not for sale. Belle wanted knowledge to be accessible to every townsperson, regardless of economic status. It was a controversial position to take and most people agreed that Belle French was a little odd, if not totally off her rocker.

To be fair, most people didn’t know her like Emma did. The two women had spent countless evenings discussing books that they’d both read and all the things they’d learned or heard about since their last meeting. Emma usually had news of discoveries and inventions from the nearby towns, and Belle reciprocated with anything that came to town in print instead of by word of mouth.

“So, what’s the next big adventure?” Belle was stacking the books that people had returned that day.

Emma looked up from her book. “It’s a dragon. And it’s killed two people already. I have to stop it.”

“You will. I truly believe that. You are a born protector.” Belle smiled at Emma. She had known Emma since the two were teenagers. They were opposites in most respects, but they had both always loved adventures. The only difference was that Belle used books to go on adventures, and Emma was a little more hands on with hers.

“You’re too kind.” Emma had never been good at accepting compliments, but Belle knew that. “There is one weird thing about this job.”

“And what’s that?”

“The man who hired me actually hired someone else first. But I really wanted the job, so I convinced him that two knights are better than one.” Emma looked worried.

“And?” Belle could tell that Emma was leaving something out.

“And the other knight he hired is Regina. Who hates me.” Regina Mills was a rather well known knight in the kingdom, and she and Emma had never seen eye to eye. They were often in competition for jobs, and Regina resented Emma for “always being in her way”.

“Maybe the two of you can work together?” Belle tried to be optimistic, for Emma’s sake.

Emma rolled her eyes. “The last time I saw her, she told me she’d destroy my happiness if it was the last thing she did.”

“Okay, well…you’ll have to beat her to the dragon and kill it before she finds out you’re hunting it.” Belle was running low on suggestions.

“Right, and then come back here and hide for 6 months. Or longer, it depends on how mad she gets.” Emma wasn’t as competitive as Regina. Actually, not many knights were. Of course they all needed to eat, but Regina wouldn’t even say hi in the tavern or smile at you on the street. It was unusual.

“You’ll have to cross that bridge when you come to it. Now, when will you be setting out?” Belle always made sure to provide Emma with a home-cooked meal before she went on her journeys.

“First light. I want to get a jump on Regina, and the dragon should be sleeping if I can get to it before sun down.” Emma had a plan. She always tried to consider the logistics, but it was her instinct that set her apart.

Emma went back to her reading, but her stomach was in knots. Why am I so anxious right now? Her gut was usually her secret weapon. Nothing could shake it, not even a dragon. Suddenly, Emma realized that it wasn’t the dragon that she was afraid of. It was Regina.


	3. The Forest

As Emma approached the forest at the edge of town, she began the countdown to the moment that she would reach the other side. It was one of the largest forests in the kingdom and to go around it would waste a day at least. No, she had to go through it, as she had done so many times before. At each mile, there were markers that she knew by heart. She used them to calm herself, especially if she had to travel after dusk. She wasn’t afraid of the woods, of course. The woods were just trees. But something about those little noises, those moving shadows pierced her to the core. In her youth she had heard many stories of creatures that lived in the woods. She knew she shouldn’t believe them, but even as an adult, they stayed with her.

In the last half mile of Emma’s journey through the forest, she heard a thunderous crash. She nearly jumped off out of her skin. The jolt caused her to lose her balance, and she fell in slow motion off of her horse. She tried to grab at the saddle, but each effort only made the fall more painful and awkward. Her feet finally found the ground and she stood to brush herself off. She looked around, but couldn’t find the source of the crash. She did, however, see a pair of eyes staring back at her from a few feet ahead. Squatting in front of a tree, visibly out of breath, and sporting a look of genuine satisfaction, was Regina. “I was wondering if you’d ever stop falling.”

“Regina, I…” Emma was at a loss for words. 

“Spit it out, Swan, I have a dragon to slay.” Regina looked annoyed. Emma had seen that face before.

“I was hired, too. To slay the dragon, I mean.” Emma tried to explain the situation, but she was still flustered from her fall and embarrassed that Regina had seen it.

“Fortunately for me, Miss Swan, I won’t be needing your assistance. I’d hate to see you up against a dragon when you’ve already lost a battle to the ground today.” Regina flashed her sarcastic smile at Emma, turned on her heel, and headed back toward the field beyond the forest.

Before Emma could stop her, Regina was off. She was nothing if not determined. Emma paused for a minute to consider her next move. I could leave, she thought. Stay out of Regina’s way. She had probably slain dragons before, she could manage this one. Or she could stay. Wait until Regina either succeeded or retreated, in which case she could come in and finish off what would be a tired dragon who probably wouldn’t expect a second knight to be waiting in the wings.

Before she could decide, she heard a disturbing shriek. Was that Regina or the dragon? She ran toward the sound. It was Regina. The dragon had her cornered. She was at the far end of the field, pushed up against a wall of rock. The wall, a small mountain chain that provided a slight natural defense to the city behind it, was full of crevices. Regina shimmied her small frame into one of them. She still wasn’t out of the dragon’s reach. Emma saw the beast descend from the sky, breathing fire in Regina’s general direction.


	4. The Field

“HEY! OVER HERE!” Emma yelled in an attempt to distract the dragon. It didn’t work. She ran through the field toward the beast. The dragon kept diving toward Regina, spitting fire as it flew. It was only a matter of time. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw a medium-sized rock. Without thinking, she scooped it up and ran toward Regina. The dragon took notice right away. It swooped in Emma’s direction. She hurled the rock with all of her strength, hitting the dragon square in the eye.

Screaming in pain, the dragon recoiled. In a moment, it had flown away. Regina stepped out from the rocks and ran toward Emma. “What were you thinking?” She seemed pretty angry for a person whose life had just been saved.

“I guess I wasn’t?” Emma didn’t know how to respond. Belle was right, it was her nature to protect.

“Well now you’ve angered it. It’s going to come back and when it does, you’re in big trouble.” Regina brushed the rocky debris from her clothes.

“I couldn’t let it kill you.” Emma blurted out.

“I’m not sure that it would have. I was out of the way.” Regina knew that she had been in grave danger, but there was no way she could admit that to Emma.

“You absolutely were not!” Emma’s face turned red.

Regina smiled coyly. “Tell me, Savior. Why is it any of your concern?” She had realized quite suddenly why Emma put herself in the dragon’s path and she couldn’t pass up the chance to tease her about it.

“It’s my concern because I’m a knight and it’s my job to protect people. And you are a person. A very difficult person, but still a person.” Emma was growing more flustered.

Regina was sure a few seconds ago that Emma was showing signs of being attracted to her, but now she was second guessing herself. The thought of being wrong about Emma disappointed her in a way that she hadn’t expected.

“Well, since you don’t need me, I guess I’ll be going.” Emma said in a childish tone. She whistled for her horse, who came running out from the trees. She turned toward the forest, but only took one step before she felt a hand on her arm. She spun around, and Regina pulled her hand away, slightly embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I just…I thought that maybe before you left, you could give me a few pointers.” Regina was going out on a limb. She didn’t want Emma to leave, but she didn’t necessarily want Emma to know that.

“Well, I did notice that you have trouble keeping your back foot planted when you lunge. It’s the simplest thing, but it makes all the difference, especially for someone as small as you.”

“As small as me? You are barely bigger than I am!” Regina was flirting, and she couldn’t stop herself.  
Who is this person? Emma thought. Regina had never been this friendly to her. Probably not to anyone. But here she was asking for sword fighting tips, and…flirting? Was Regina flirting with her? The thought made her face blush again. “Uh, anyway, so you want to tilt your hips at an angle, to give yourself more leverage.”

“Like this?” Regina had drawn her sword and attempted to pose like Emma was telling her to do.

“Um, not exactly. You want your back foot to be more like this.” Emma simulated the pose she was trying to teach Regina. She turned back around to see that Regina was failing to make the correct adjustments. She walked behind Regina, bent down and physically turned her foot. Regina wobbled, but regained her balance.

“Now, turn your hips.” Emma instructed. Regina did, but overshot it. Still standing behind Regina, Emma stepped closer, placed her hands on Regina’s hips and very firmly turned her body to the correct angle.

Emma felt the blood rush to her face, but she couldn’t pull her hands away from Regina’s body. The seconds felt like hours. Regina shifted her weight to her back foot, closing the gap between their bodies. “Like this?” she asked.

“Um, yeah. Keep it planted there when you go in for the lunge.” Emma kept her hands on Regina’s hips as she moved forward. Once in the lunge position, Emma tweaked her stance. “You want to keep your front leg lined up, and this one squared. Her hand moved from Regina’s hip to her thigh. Regina’s legs were strong. Emma could feel that they were practically all muscle through her pants.

“Make sure your torso ends up facing forward, otherwise you’re more susceptible to attacks from your blind side.” Emma wrapped her hands around Regina’s sides, above her waist. With her fingers so close to Regina’s chest, Emma realized how badly she wanted to keep touching her. She pulled her hands back and they fell to her side. “Well, looks like you got it.” She was obviously flustered.

Regina turned around quickly, confused about why Emma had retreated. Hadn’t she liked what was happening? Upon seeing Emma’s beet red face yet again, Regina confirmed that she had indeed enjoyed teaching the pose. “Can I show you something now?” Regina stepped back into Emma’s personal space.

Emma felt a calm come over her. “Um, sure. I guess.” She wasn’t sure what was coming, but she knew what she hoped would happen.

Without missing a beat, Regina lifted Emma’s chin and kissed her softly. The two spent a moment lost in each other’s gazes, wondering how it came to this. They were interrupted by a loud screech.

The dragon had returned. “You were right. He’s pissed.” Emma drew her sword. She looked over to see Regina headed for the woods. “Where the hell are you going?”

“You saw me before, it almost killed me! I can’t beat this thing. I’m not strong enough.” Regina was yelling over the noise of the dragon’s giant wings growing ever closer to the field.

Emma hated the defeated look on Regina’s face. Maybe Belle was right and she would be open to working together, after all. “REGINA!”

Regina spun around, eyes wide.

“You may not be strong enough, but maybe we are.”


End file.
